


Millennium Suites

by DhampirsDrinkEspresso



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Accidental Marriage, Accidental Mate Bond, Altered Mental States, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Alternate Universe - Werecreatures, Biting, Blood Drinking, Boss/Employee Relationship, Co-workers, Cussing, Depression, F/F, F/M, Failed Surrogacy, Garlic Allergy, Hotel staff, Licking wounds, M/M, Magic, Manual Restraint, Mentions of Forced Breeding, Mildly Dubious Consent, More Like Extortion, Or There May Be Smut, Paranormal, Past Miscarriage, Past Pregnancy Loss, Possessive Ben Solo, Profanity, Protective Ben Solo, Psychic Bond, Rating May Change, Shapeshifters - Freeform, Silver Allergy, Supernatural Creatures, Supernatural Influence, Tags May Change, There May Not Be Smut, Urban Fantasy, Vampire Bites, Vampires, Werewolves, cursing, magical influence, rey needs a nap, sun aversion
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:34:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26064322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DhampirsDrinkEspresso/pseuds/DhampirsDrinkEspresso
Summary: Rey liked her job well enough, and her coworkers were great for the most part. The staff at the Millennium Suites was the closest thing she’d had to a family, and she’s always been grateful they’ve worked with her on her schedule as she attempted to finish putting herself through school and keep her other commitments. Then Ben Solo, wayward son of the owners, took over management of the property.
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Rose Tico, Kaydel Ko Connix/Jannah, Poe Dameron/Finn, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 19
Kudos: 29





	1. Oversold

**Author's Note:**

> I was mid-way through chapter five of Oak Rings when two pending ideas joined forces and shoved their way to the front of the line, becoming, well, this...
> 
> Rating may go up or it may go down. We'll see if they cooperate this time.
> 
> Please see the tags. There will be discussion of a previous pregnancy and miscarriage in a future chapter.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They’re oversold by three, no one is allowed overtime, and the new boss wants to nitpick about phone greetings and who should be doing maintenance work. Still, threatening to beat up her new boss is probably not the best first impression Rey could make…
> 
> _“What do you think you’re doing?” Solo demanded, eyes widening just a bit.  
>  Rey ignored him for the moment, draping the shirt neatly over the top of the chair at the PBX station, on top of her blazer, and gathered her hair up into a messy bun before clipping her radio to her pocket.  
> “Taking off my uniform so I don’t get it dirty,” she said, turning and striding out of the office with purpose. He caught the door, following her out with an irritated huff of breath.  
> “Why would you be getting it dirty?”  
> “Because I’m going to fix the sink in 421, reclean the bathroom, and touch up the rest of the suite.”  
> “Wha—but—you—you’re just—”  
> She spun on him, eyes blazing. “I swear, if you say I can’t because I’m just a girl, it won’t matter that you’re technically my boss, I will beat you within an inch of sanity and use your fancy suit to mop up the blood.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Title changed from "A Typical Night" to "Oversold" 12/20/2020 (just to keep it more on theme with the others).

“Thank you for contacting Millennium Suites, Rey speaking, how may I be of assistance?”

“That’s not the approved greeting,” the gruff, rumbling voice said, barely discernable over the road noise on his end.

Oh, the very _nerve_. “Pardon?”

“You heard me, what was your name again?”

She ground her teeth, bit her tongue for a moment, and attempted not to growl. This had to be the new boss, the wayward son of the owners. He was supposed to be training overnight for the week, learning the basics of the night audit. “Rey, sir, as I stated. How may I assist you?”

He made a noise of frustration and barked, “Transfer me to Dameron.” She almost refused, wanted to tell him Poe was unavailable, but she also didn’t want to stay on the line with him. She supposed she could just hang up and pretend the call dropped when he inevitably called back, but she needed this job, so she forced a smile onto her lips, said, “It would be my pleasure, please hold,” and punched the correct combination of buttons to transfer and release the call. She stepped around the corner to make sure Poe was actually at the workstation where she had sent the call just in time to see him answer.

Task done, Rey stepped back around the corner, returning to her post at the front desk and continuing through the tasks on her shift checklist in between greeting guests and answering phone calls. Normally they would still have a phone operator for another hour, but Rose had gone home early, not feeling well. Rey suspected the new employee meal selections introduced the previous week. It didn’t make sense. They had a fully stocked kitchen, state of the art equipment, an actual chef, sous chef, and excellent line cooks, but one week prior the announcement had been made that employee meals would now be outsourced, coming from First Order foodservice. Then the kitchen and restaurant staff had received a new schedule with reduced hours, a tighter ingredient budget, and Maz—the food and beverage manager—had been informed her overall budget was to be reduced by half. Similar (though slightly less extreme) cuts were being imposed on housekeeping, maintenance, and the front office (including cutting the PBX operators and bellmen to 6 hour shifts, and taking one day from each of the front desk agents on the day and evening shifts), while the sales and catering staff were getting bonuses and extra resources “for marketing purposes.”

Rey wasn’t supposed to know that—any of it—but other than the hotel’s owners, Maz was the closest thing Rey had to a parent and the two of them had no secrets. Finn, her roommate (and basically her brother), was one of the room service servers and had confirmed it all. In fact, he wasn’t working tonight because he had been scheduled only four of his usual five days, and his days off had been changed despite being guaranteed a set schedule. He was going to have to call out tomorrow or miss class. As for the other departments, well, a lot of people liked Rey, even more of them liked Rose, and Rose was excellent at procuring the juiciest gossip.

Rey still hadn’t met this mysterious Ben Solo who was stepping in and taking over day to day operations, but she was sure she did not like him. She’d seen a childhood picture of him once, a skinny, dark haired boy with ears that stuck out in what she had thought (at the time) was an adorable fashion, and a sullen pout. She imagined the man would look much the same, an overgrown, gangly man-child with big ears, a bad attitude, worse haircut, and the complete inability to smile.

Movement in her peripheral vision caught her attention and she looked up, smiling, and waving at their security officer for the night. His name was Charles Bakker, but everyone called him Chewie. He was the tallest man she had ever met, with sparkling blue eyes, long mane-like hair, and a bushy beard and mustache to match it. When he laughed it sounded like a roar and he laughed a lot. “Good evening, little Rey!” he called, stepping over to lean on the end of the counter where he could talk to her and still watch the elevators and lobby doors

“Hi, Chewie!”

“What do we have tonight, girlie?”

“Full house, oversold by three actually, and only 5 arrivals left, although it looks like two of those called in trying to cancel.”

He nodded, rubbing at his chin. “So still short one?”

She sighed. “Yes, and I have a feeling we are going to need it.”

“Any out of service?”

“Haven’t had a moment to check, new boss called in, right prick that one,” she muttered, clicking through screens to look at the report listing rooms that couldn’t be sold for various reasons.

Chewie gave a short bark of laughter. “Aye, that he is, lass. Me godson, ye know?”

She looked up at him with wide eyes, causing him to laugh, a big, booming sound that echoed through the lobby and open atrium. “Ah, sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Don’t worry your pretty little head. It’s an accurate assessment.”

She heard the automatic doors click and slide open and turned with a smile, ready to greet her guests with a “Welcome,” or “Welcome back,” or a friendly “How was your day?” but froze at the sight of the man stepping into her lobby. Tall, one of the tallest men she’d ever seen other than Chewie, with dark hair that was somehow both messy and neat, intense eyes, and lush lips. “Good evening sir, welc—”

He ignored her, walking right past the desk and around the corner. She heard the beep of the combination lock on the office door as he hissed at Chewie to “Get to work, we aren’t paying you to flirt.”

Oh no.

 _That_ was Ben Solo?

Her new boss.

Well, she had to adjust her mental image of Ben Solo now, although it seemed she’d at least been right about his inability to smile.

Chewie muttered something under his breath, shook his head, and gave Rey a pitying look. “Walkie’s on, time for rounds.” He moved away from the desk, heading for the side door, presumably to walk the outside of the building, checking the emergency exits and looking for any potential issues in the parking lot.

The phone rang, the call proving her suspicion that three of the five remaining reservations would be coming in late, all co-workers traveling together. She had suspected as much when she noticed they were all booked the same day via the same corporate travel agency. She glanced over the list of out of order rooms again and grabbed the radio, switching over to the housekeeping channel. “Front desk to housekeeping, I need a room check.”

A voice crackled back but she couldn’t understand what they said. Rather than deal with the issues often caused by two-way radios badly in need of replacement, she grabbed the phone, dialing the extension for the Executive Housekeeper and hoping the evening supervisor was still there. It should be Kaydel tonight, and she rarely left early. Kaydel picked up on the first ring. “Housekeeping, how may I assist you?”

“Kay, it’s me. I need a room. I just got confirmation that the last three are all coming in late together and I only have 2 to assign. I checked the system and it looks like 628 and 421 are the best options.”

“One sec, babe, let me pull the inspection reports.” Rey waited as Kaydel shuffled papers and clicked the mouse. “Hm, well, 628 was a family of six for almost a week, that room is probably a disaster zone. We’re looking at a minimum hour’s overtime for at least two of my team for that one, and that’s assuming you and I help. Or…421 just needs a touch up, but the sink had a slow leak. We’re waiting on engineering to get to it. Snap said it would be a simple fix, but they can’t do it until tomorrow.”

“Got it, thanks Kay. I’ll check with Poe, see what he wants to sign off on and then call you back.” Rey checked outside, straining to see if anyone was headed for the entrance (made difficult by the way the windows and doors basically turned into mirrors after dark thanks to the anti-glare coating intended to keep the lobby cooler during daylight hours). With the entrance and lobby clear for the moment she stepped around the corner, calling out for Poe on the way. “Poe, we’re short one room for the confirmed late arrivals. Kay says we can clean 628 but it will be an hour overtime for 2 suite keepers or touch up 421 but there’s a slow leak in the sink and—”

Poe didn’t even get to open his mouth before a deep voice interrupted Rey. “No overtime. Period.”

Oh, right. Solo. She’d managed to momentarily forget he was there. She looked at him, standing there in his ridiculous suit, arms crossed over his ridiculously broad chest, and glaring down at her from his ridiculous height.

“Fine, understood.” She pulled off the cheap polyester blazer. “Poe, you got the desk?”

“Yep, I’ll call Chewie, have him meet you at maintenance.”

Rey nodded her thanks, adding, “Call Kaydel back too, so she doesn’t hold anyone back for the extra time.” When Poe confirmed he would, Rey began tugging at the horrible polyester shell that passed for a uniform shirt and pulling it over her head, leaving her in the scratchy slacks that completed her uniform and a cotton V-neck tee that she wore under the blouse. Oddly, the extra layer kept her cooler because at least the cotton breathed rather than trapping in all her body heat.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Solo demanded, eyes widening just a bit.

Rey ignored him for the moment, draping the shirt neatly over the top of the chair at the PBX station, on top of her blazer, and gathered her hair up into a messy bun before clipping her radio to her pocket.

“Taking off my uniform so I don’t get it dirty,” she said, turning and striding out of the office with purpose. He caught the door, following her out with an irritated huff of breath.

“Why would you be getting it dirty?”

“Because I’m going to fix the sink in 421, reclean the bathroom, and touch up the rest of the suite.”

“Wha—but—you—you’re just—”

She spun on him, eyes blazing. “I swear, if you say I can’t because I’m just a girl, it won’t matter that you’re technically my boss, I will beat you within an inch of sanity and use your fancy suit to mop up the blood.”

He gave her a long look, and she almost thought he was impressed. “I was going to say, you’re just the front desk, this isn’t your job. You can just walk them.”

She stared at him, incredulous. “Right, because that’s preferable.” Rey tilted her head, staring up at him. “You do realize that not only will it cause a scene at the desk and possibly lose us the revenue for all three rooms since they are together, it would cost far more than me taking an hour to fix a sink and clean a room, or even paying two suite keepers an hour of overtime.”

“We have a rate agreement with the Falcon Suites,” he began.

“And they are also oversold tonight. They called me looking for six rooms almost an hour ago.”

“Well, the Chandrila Inn next door—”

“Also sold out.”

“And the other 14 two- and three-star properties within a two-block radius?”

“Minimum $350 per night for the few that have rooms. It’s the middle of summer, within a mile of the Chandrila Regional Convention Center and minutes away from two theme parks.”

It seemed to dawn on him that she was correct, and he shrugged. “Fine then, let’s go.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m going to help you. Clearly you know what you’re doing and you’re about the only person who has bothered to prove that to me. Also, I would rather not be stuck alone with Dameron for the next hour.”

Rey rolled her eyes and turned, crossing the lobby and opening the door to the employee only area that housed lockers, a break room, the time clock, and the entrance to the maintenance office.

Chewie was standing at the office door, waiting on her. “Thanks, Chewie.”

“Anytime, lass,” the security guard said, pointedly ignoring Mr. Solo. Rey stepped into the office, not really caring whether Solo followed or not, heading unerringly for the “extra” tools and then the plumbing supplies. If Snap thought it would be an easy fix, then it was likely a rubber washer or a plastic slip joint in need of replacement. She grabbed a plastic bucket, a few parts, and the appropriate tools before heading to the housekeeping office and crossing to the service elevator, greeting the overnight laundry attendants as she passed them. Solo followed silently, and she could almost _feel_ his eyes boring into the back of her head.

The elevator ride passed in a tense, awkward silence and she led the way to 421, cursing as she paused by the door. “I forgot the master key.” She fumbled at the radio, intending to call Chewie, but Solo produced a card from his jacket pocket, swiping it over the reader. The lock beeped and flashed a green light as it clicked over. “Thanks,” she mumbled, carrying her bucket of supplies (she’d refused his offer to carry it for her) into the room as he held the door.

There was a bucket below the sink, catching a slow but steady drip there, as well as a drip from the tap. She dropped to the floor, reaching for the emergency shut off valve for the sink and immensely grateful this was one of the rooms that had one. It would make her task far less messy, and the resulting clean up would go faster.

She had to admit, Solo was a fairly competent plumber’s assistant, and made the already quick job go even faster, even if she _had_ been momentarily distracted when he shrugged off his jacket and removed his cufflinks (really? Gold cufflinks to train on an overnight shift at a three-star hotel?) to roll up his sleeves.

Between the two of them, they managed to have the sink repaired, the bathroom scrubbed and sanitized, and the rest of the suite touched up in just over half an hour. She called to Poe on the radio that the room was ready to be returned to service.

“Thanks for the help,” she said, offering a tired, toothy grin to the mountain of a man beside her before leading the way back to the service elevator.

“Out of curiosity, how often does this happen?”

“ _This_ as in being oversold, me cleaning rooms, or me doing minor repairs?”

“All of it, really.”

She couldn’t hold back the snort of laughter. “Oh, Solo, you have no idea…this is typical for a sold-out night. I don’t really keep track, but at least weekly. With the cleaning bits Poe and I trade off, and Kaydel or Mitaka will help if they’re still here when it needs to be done. If they’re gone the laundry attendants help too, but then they fall behind in their regular duties, so we try not to make their lives harder if we can help it. We’re a team here, you know. What you said earlier, about it not being my job, if everyone thought like that this building would collapse in on itself.” He seemed to really think about that, eyes narrowing as he stared at his shoes, the formerly glossy toes now a little scuffed.

Rey excused herself to the loo, splashing cool water on her face and neck and attempting to reorder her hair. By the time she returned to the office Poe had Solo in the server room, closing out various computer systems and running reports for balancing accounts for the day, and the three arrivals had _just_ checked in and headed for their rooms.

Good thing they’d worked quickly to have 421 ready. The guests would have no clue there had even been an issue, she and Poe didn’t have to make anyone angry by sending them to another hotel (and the Millennium didn’t have to foot that bill), and Rey could skip ahead in her checklist and maybe be able to actually take her breaks rather than working straight through and wolfing down her lunch in five minutes while filing reports or restocking amenities. Admittedly that was less likely to happen on her front desk nights than on Poe’s nights off when she covered the audit and one of the other agents worked the desk.

The night actually went surprisingly well until around three AM. She had just returned from her lunch break and the first call she received was someone complaining about a backed-up toilet and an air conditioner not cooling properly. They didn’t believe her when she explained that someone could plunge the toilet and check the AC unit, but no there was not another room available and she couldn’t give them a complimentary upgrade “for the trouble.” She transferred the call to Poe, glad he handled the manager on duty responsibilities when they worked together.

Apparently, the man didn’t believe Poe either, because in less than 10 minutes he was at the desk, demanding she ‘call someone at home’ and complaining he had been ‘dealing with this for hours.’

At that point Rey decided she’d had enough. Her head hurt, the meat in the sandwich she’d brought from home (because she was NOT going to eat that First Order garbage that had been sitting in a box all afternoon) had apparently spoiled so she’d only had yogurt and an apple for her meal, and she didn’t appreciate his condescending tone.

Rey took a breath, looked up at the man leaning menacingly over the counter, and smiled. “I’m deeply sorry, sir, you said it’s been hours?” she said sweetly, baring her teeth. “I don’t seem to have a record of that report.”

He sputtered, red-faced, and took a step back. “Well I…I mean, I didn’t…it wasn’t that bad before.”

“Oh, I see, so you didn’t report it. Well sir, since this is the first report, I need to opportunity to fix the problems before I can even discuss potential compensation.”

“Uh, yeah…look, is there someone else I can talk to? That man on the phone, he said he was the manager.”

“Oh, of course sir, I’ll just fetch him for you, shall I?” Poe was already coming around the corner, and the man blanched when Poe, followed by Mr. Solo, stepped up beside her.

Chewie had apparently also heard the commotion and was making his way to the reception desk.

Rey could take care of herself, but Poe and Chewie tended to be a little protective of her, and Solo was intimidating as hell based on his height alone.

The man sputtered some more and mumbled that he’d appreciate it if someone could see to the toilet right away and maybe check the air conditioning in a few hours.

She shook her head and glanced at Poe, expecting his sharp grin as the man practically ran back to the elevator.

She almost felt bad for the guest. Humans just scared so easily…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, any guesses on who is supernatural and what type?


	2. Shift Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There’s no record of Rey’s request for the night off so she goes to work under threat of suspension but doing so nearly proves to be an unmitigated disaster.
> 
> _“All right, Solo, we have to get her out of here. I can take her home or you can, but she cannot stay in this building.”_
> 
> _“She can’t leave,” Solo said, finally standing and rounding the desk._
> 
> _“The hell are you—”_
> 
> _“Look at her, Poe, it’s too late. Whatever she took isn’t working and there is no time to get her anywhere else.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW/TW:  
> Mention of a past miscarriage.  
> Dubious Consent (no actual sexual activity) regarding physical contact while Rey is not in her right mind.  
> Biting (I mean, vampires and shapeshifters so...)

“ _Motherfucker_!” Rey slammed the locker shut and winced at the echo. She leaned against the cool metal for a moment, groaning as she panted for breath.

_She shouldn’t be here._

Not that she had a choice. Oh no. Because Ben fucking Solo apparently didn’t care about medical conditions and pre-approved requests off.

The schedule had come out late, last minute yesterday, and when she called (and texted, and emailed) she was brusquely informed he had neither received nor approved any night off requests and she could show up as scheduled or face suspension.

Fine. If that was how he wanted to play it.

She groaned again, the sound growing higher in pitch until it was an echoing whine. She fumbled at her pocket for the plastic card she needed to punch in, swiping it three times before the time clock read and accepted the punch. She took a shaky step past the break room, pausing as a wave of nausea rolled over her, starting the abdominal cramping again. Her face was damp with clammy sweat.

She’d thought they’d reached some sort of understanding after the week and a half Ben had trained overnight with Poe (and with Rey on Poe’s nights off). Then he’d returned to the daytime management hours and it was as if none of it had ever happened.

Everyone’s schedule was suddenly changed _again_ , budgets tightened even further, and employee hours reduced again, and now…well, now she was at work on a night she absolutely should not be around anyone else. She squared her shoulders before pushing open the swinging door separating the employee entrance hall from the public space of the hotel lobby atrium. She managed to walk calmly all the way across to the office door, holding her breath most of the way and fumbling at the buttons on the lock. She nearly fell into the office after finally getting the door open, stumbling and catching herself on the desk for the PBX operators.

The commotion brought Poe around the corner, eyes widening in horror when he saw her. “What the hell are you doing here, Rey?”

“Ssss…scheduled…” she managed to slur. Why was she getting dizzy? The meds should have kicked in already.

“Babe, you cannot be here tonight.”

“No choice, Poe.” She shook her head, trembling but able to stand up straight.

Poe’s eyes went red and his canines lengthened, sharpening into the classic fangs vampires were known for. His grip on her elbow was steel as he practically lifted her by the arm and dragged her to the office Solo had claimed for himself. He tried the door, found it locked, and twisted harder, breaking the lock and then shoving the door open with his shoulder.

“SOLO!” he yelled.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Dameron?”

“What am I doing? What the hell are you doing?” Poe shoved Rey ahead of him, steadying her with one arm as her knees threatened to give out. “Fuck, Ben, you can’t force Rey to be here tonight. Look at her.”

She _felt_ Solo’s eyes running over her, and she forced her head up, meeting his gaze in challenge. His mouth fell open as he took in the unearthly yellow green of her eyes, the sweat on her brow, the twitching of her muscles fighting against her.

“You can’t just force-schedule a werewolf on the full moon, and you _definitely_ can’t make a wolf with silver and garlic allergies work a late group check in for the Guild of Silversmiths.” Poe paused, taking in the shock on Ben’s face. “Oh my God, you didn’t even know, did you? Jesus, man, have you read anyone’s file?”

“Of course I have, and yes, I knew she was a werewolf, but I didn’t know about the allergies.”

Rey held Solo’s gaze, refusing to look away first, even as her knees finally did give out and she collapsed over Poe’s arm. For his part, Poe lowered her to the floor, still glaring at the other vampire. “All right, Solo, we have to get her out of here. I can take her home or you can, but she cannot stay in this building.”

“She can’t leave,” Solo said, finally standing and rounding the desk.

“The hell are you—”

“Look at her, Poe, it’s too late. Whatever she took isn’t working and there _is_ no time to get her anywhere else.”

They stared down at her as she curled into a ball on the floor, writhing and whimpering as her body fought the drugs, desperate to slip her skin and _run_.

Poe’s response was a heartfelt “ _Shit!”_ She heard him say something about pulling Finn, and that Tallie would need overtime approval.

“Finn…drugs?” she managed.

“Yeah, sweetness, Finn’s been taking the good stuff all week, and he ran last month. He’ll be fine, I promise.” She nodded, then whimpered when that set off a new round of muscle spasms. Poe knelt beside her and kissed her forehead before leaving the office.

“Rey, how close are you to losing control?” The only answer Ben got was another whimper as her back arched and her fingers flexed uncontrollably, twitching and elongating. He cursed again and knelt, carefully shifting her to a semi-seated position and placing his thumb against a pressure point on her jaw, forcing her mouth to open far enough that he could see her teeth were already changing, taking on the sharp, pointed shape of a carnivore. Her internal changes were nearly done, then, organs reshaped and shifted out of place, if her teeth were already canine.

She growled at him, teeth snapping together just shy of his hand.

_No touch. Not pack, no touch._

“Okay, I need you to know I am sorry for what I am about to do and you can kill me for it later, but right now we need to get you under control enough to get out of here.”

Words, she knew the words, but she didn’t have any grasp of the meaning as her body and her canine instincts fought for control.

She yelped when Ben picked her up, the change in position setting off yet another round of muscle spasms. He made a sound, low in his throat, rumbling up from deep in his chest, and it was soothing somehow as he carried her the short distance to the sofa he had brought into the office. It was a black leather monstrosity, but she sighed as her body pressed into the cushions. “Please don’t hate me too much for this,” Ben muttered, rolling her onto her stomach. She let him, still unnaturally calmed by that sound he had made. She didn’t even panic when he straddled her, planting one knee on either side of her thighs and leaned over, grabbing her wrists in one of his hands, stretching her arms out as far as they would go. Some little part of her that was still mostly human recognized what he was doing, and she was relieved he knew about it.

The next round of cramps and muscle spasms began, and she bucked her hips, instinctively trying to toss him off of her and wriggle free. He tightened his grip on her wrists as her nails lengthened, growing sharper as they curled into thick claws. His free hand came down on her head and she snarled, snapping at him again as he pressed the side of her face firmly against the cushions. “If you bite me, I’ll fucking bite back,” he muttered, tightening his knees around her thighs. “Of course tonight you wear the skirt option,” he muttered as she squirmed, bucking up under him again in her continued attempts to get free, causing the skirt to bunch up high around her thighs. Her inner wolf hated being restrained even more than the human part of her did.

She managed to get her hands free, and one leg, and he cursed, both his hands scrabbling at her wrists as he just dropped his body on top of her, weight bearing her down into the cushions. She growled again, a low warning this time.

_Not happy. Danger. Bite._

That low rumble came again, almost like…was he growling back at her? Vampires didn’t do that. Not unless…

“Wolf affinity,” he muttered.

Could he hear her?

“At the moment, yes.” The surprise of that brought her rational mind fully back into control. He shifted his weight, taking the opportunity to slide further down her body, regaining control of her legs and not pressing her quite so far into the couch. She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Rey, I didn’t realize…well, you’ve been off the last five full moons, and there wasn’t any paperwork. I thought…”

“You thought I’d been able to run and the drugs would work, no big deal, right?”

She felt his chin against the top of her head as he nodded. She shifted, readjusting her legs and arms so he could get a better angle when it inevitably started again. She didn’t actually want to get away from him and be loose in the Millennium mid-transformation. That was how people got hurt. She lifted her head, shifting against the leather sticking to her skin. “I haven’t actually changed or run in 6 months.”

He went completely still, not even breathing.

There was only one reason a female werewolf would go that long between shapeshifts.

“What happened?”

“Nothing in particular, just a miscarriage. One of those things, you know? It wasn’t meant to be.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Me too. Poe and Finn were devastated.”

“Uh…what?”

“The baby, she was theirs, or she would have been. I was just a surrogate. It was the only way the pack would let me go, and let Finn be with Poe. Finn and I both needed a pup.”

“I’m confused.”

She couldn’t help a giggle, followed quickly by a gasp. “Ben? It’s starting again. Ask me again tomorrow, I promise I’ll tell you as much of the story as I can. It isn’t all mine to tell.” He nodded, tightening his hold on her arms, tucking his face into the back of her neck, and pinning her thighs in place with his hips.

She screamed as her leg muscles knotted and seized, forcing her lower limbs into a shape too awkward for supporting a human body but not right for a canine one either.

It had been stupid to take the drugs so late, even if it had been a double dose. She was going to get stuck in-between forms, and it was going to _hurt._ She should have just trusted that Poe would look out for her, that Ben would have understood if she’d bothered to tell him the actual reason she needed the night off and not just insisted she be scheduled off with no explanation.

Another wave of burning pain rolled over her and she couldn’t think anymore.

Ben cursed as the low whine rolled out of her, growing in volume as it threatened to become a true howl. “I am so sorry for this,” he whispered against the shell of her ear before moving unwaveringly to the base of her neck. Taking great care not to break the sensitive skin there, he dragged his fangs slowly over her flesh before lifting his head and using every ounce of self-control to retract them before opening his mouth wide and biting down just shy of hard enough to break skin.

It worked instantly, but at a cost. Rey froze under him, the impending howl only a deep sigh as her body relaxed completely, thighs shifting until her legs were as far apart as she could manage with the way he had her pinned. He lifted his head and took a deep breath of his own, quickly realizing his mistake at the change in her scent. “Rey?”

“Hm?” She shifted again, bucking her hips up beneath him, but not in any attempt to get away. Instincts still in control, she was…offering herself to him.

The price of what he’d done.

Her inner wolf was acknowledging his dominance. He’d won the ‘fight’ and pinned her, so he had the right to mate her.

“Rey, please, I am begging you, _don’t move_.”

She squirmed again, gasping as her hips pressed against him and she felt the hard, heavy length of him against her ass—the reason he was so desperate for her to hold still. She froze and winced as a low, needy whine rumbled through her.

Ah, back in control.

“Rey, can you hear me? Do you understand? I need you to hold still.”

She nodded slowly, body trembling beneath him as she attempted to do as he said. Her fingers were twitching again, and her feet kept flexing rhythmically as her tendons and ligaments were reshaped. He knew better than to let her go, not yet.

“I think we both know there’s another wave coming, and we have to get through it before I can get you out of here. There’s not a lot of time, and I can—”

“Do it, Ben.”

“Rey, you don’t really know what you’re asking.”

“I do, and I understand that we might not be able to stop. But I also know if I lose control someone could die. So, consider this me consenting to whatever you have to do to prevent that, and man up and bite me again, damn it!”

He couldn’t hold back the laugh that huffed out against the back of her neck. “You’re absurd, do you know that?”

“So I’ve been told, although not in those exact words.”

He risked removing one of his hands from her wrists, using it to brush her hair aside and tug down her shirt collar, lips hovering just above her skin, waiting for her to change her mind.

“Just fucking do it already!”

He didn’t wait any longer, this time shifting just a bit to the side, then clamping his teeth down on her shoulder with a growl that sent a shudder down her spine. He tasted blood, and it was all he could do not to turn this into an actual feed. Rey loose mid-shift would be bad enough. Both of them out of control would be an epic disaster. She shivered beneath him, tiny tremors as the changes in her body reversed themselves.

Ben released the bite, but he wasn’t able to resist trailing his tongue over the wound. She tasted like good dark chocolate, sweet and rich but with a bitterness that threatened to bite back. At the stroke of his tongue over her skin she moaned and whined, pressing back against him again, grinding against him as she panted.

She wasn’t twitching anymore, not in the way that was worrisome anyway, and he sat up reluctantly, releasing her.

Rey whined and squirmed around, coming up on her hands and knees. He almost didn’t hear her begging him, over and over. “Please, please, do it, mate me, I’m yours, please, please, please.” He winced, knowing she would be appalled at the things she was saying if she were in her right mind.

That was probably the only thing stopping him from taking the next step, from claiming her like some kind of prize. His hands trembled when she stopped begging and started to cry.

He _couldn’t._

But oh, how he wanted to.

Ben managed to get her bundled into his jacket (in hopes his scent would prolong the unnatural, pliant calm) and out the side door to his car without incident. There weren’t many options of where to go. She needed room to run, something to hunt, and no humans in the vicinity.

He winced as she moaned in pain where she was slumped in the passenger seat. It was starting again, and there would be no stopping it this time. She moved around, arms flailing as she tugged at the material of his jacket, pulling it over her face for a deep inhale.

“Hold on, Rey. 10 minutes. Can you make it 10 minutes for me?”

Her only answer was a low whine.

He made a turn and pressed the gas pedal all the way down, hoping no one else was on this particular road. Technically there shouldn’t be. It was private property, after all.

He threw the car into park in seven minutes, and Rey threw open the door and fell out. By the time he managed to get his own door open she was gone, a relieved, joyous howl echoing behind her as she chased something into the underbrush. Another howl answered her in the distance, and Ben shook his head. Of course.

Briefly, he entertained the thought of following, running with them through the dark. He tilted his head back and stared up at the moon, eyes going silver and his body thrumming with the possibility of _something._

Rey returned to awareness slowly, a series of impressions flitting through her brain as the wolf senses receded, allowing her human mind to process rationally once again.

_Soft. Warm._

Bed, she was in a bed, but it definitely wasn’t hers. Too big, too comfortable. _Whose?_

She eased up onto her elbows, taking a slow breath in to scent the room.

_Oh no._

She sat up quickly, staring down at herself in horror. She wasn’t naked, but she seemed to be wearing someone else’s shirt. She wiggled her toes and looked down at her feet. His socks, too, apparently.

Cautiously she tugged the fabric of the plain, white dress shirt up, holding it over her nose as she breathed in again.

Yep, she’d been right.

She was wearing Ben Solo’s shirt, the one he’d had on at work the previous night. And based on the way his scent was embedded in every surface in the room, she’d been sleeping in his bed. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on her breathing. Snatches of memory drifted back. She remembered Poe dragging her into Ben’s office and the two of them arguing.

Ben had just _known_ she was on the verge of losing control because the drugs weren’t working, and…there were confusing images of black cushions, and the smell and feel of leather as a weight pressed down on her.

Ben.

It was Ben.

How did a vampire know the right pressure points to delay or reverse a shapeshift?

_Wolf Affinity._

He hadn’t really said that, had he?

A vampire with a wolf affinity was exceedingly rare. Most of them had no animal affinity at all, and the ones who did were almost exclusively linked to cats, bats, and insects.

She smelled the rich scent of coffee and the door clicked open.

“Oh, good, you’re awake. How are you feeling?”

She looked up at Ben, holding a tray with coffee and a selection of sweeteners and cream, along with a teapot and what looked like a tea infuser. She gasped as another memory came back, clear as crystal.

_Please, please, do it, mate me, I’m yours, please, please, please._

Rey groaned and flopped back onto the bed, grabbing a pillow and smashing it over her face.

She heard him chuckle. “So, I take it you remember at least some of the night, then?”

_Bastard._

“Not technically. My parents were married when I was born, although the math suggests I _was_ conceived out of wedlock.”

She sat up slowly, staring at him in shock. “Ben, I didn’t say that out loud.”

He nearly dropped the tray before uttering a heartfelt, “Well, _shit._ ”

**Author's Note:**

> [Millennium Suites Playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2D17Bhn0XQ22eUpcKg8ioS?si=q1ObJXFLTF68RzgQ6x1hDQ)


End file.
